Nuclear News: Iranian leader to join UN nuclear summit

Blogpost by Andrew Davies - 2 May, 2010 at 17:22

Originally posted by Justin on April 29, 2010 1:17 PM.

Today's big stories from the nuclear industry:

Iranian leader to join UN nuclear summit ‘Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to join a major UN nuclear disarmament summit next week in New York, even as the US and other powers seek tougher sanctions at the world body to halt Tehran's suspect atomic work. Iran's UN mission said president Ahmadinejad applied Wednesday for a U.S. visa to lead Iran's delegation to the non-proliferation treaty review conference opening Monday at the United Nations headquarters.’

China's plan to build two nuclear plants in Pakistan worries Washington: Report ‘London, Apr.29 (ANI): In what could severely impede the United States' efforts towards nuclear non-proliferation, China has reportedly agreed to help Pakistan build two nuclear reactors. According to a report in The Financial Times, Chinese companies and officials in Islamabad have confirmed the deal, which is yet to be made public by Beijing.China began building a nuclear reactor in Chashma in Pakistan's Punjab province in 1991 and work on a second rector began in 2005, which is expected to be completed next year. Under the new agreement, Chinese companies will build at least two new 650-MW reactors at Chashma, the report said.’

What is the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ‘Signatories of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) gather next week in New York to assess compliance with the pact and discuss ways to end loopholes that enabled Iran and North Korea to develop atomic fuel programs. Here are some key facts about the treaty...’

Radioactive waste traced to Indian university laboratory ‘New Delhi - Radioactive waste found in a scrapyard that caused the death of one person and left several others seriously ill from exposure has been traced to a laboratory at Delhi University, news reports said Thursday. The toxic cobalt-60 came from a gamma irradiator machine bought from Canada in 1970, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported, quoting police.’

State, mining firm clash over uranium cleanup near Golden ‘Rerouting a creek, excavating toxic soil and filtration are among the proposals as Cotter Corp. and regulators clash over how to handle uranium-contaminated water at a defunct mine west of Denver. The contamination from the Schwartzwalder Mine — exceeding health standards at the source by 1,000 times — may have reached a creek that flows to a Denver Water reservoir. Denver Water and environmentalists on Wednesday demanded an aggressive cleanup to protect public health. They say drinking water is safe because water treatment plants remove uranium.’

Plan is lodged to treat radioactive waste near Peterhead ‘The firms behind controversial plans to treat radioactive waste at a Buchan landfill site have lodged an application for the proposal with the council. Waste management company Sita and radiation specialists Nuvia want to convert a building at Stoneyhill landfill near Peterhead into a facility for washing radioactive residue from contaminated oil and gas industry equipment. A spokeswoman for the firms last night confirmed the planning application for the project had been submitted to the local authority.’

Hanford Moves Out Nine Radioactive "Hot Cells" ‘HANFORD— A big part of Hanford's clean-up effort is taking place right now. That’s nine radioactive "hot cells" packed up in custom containers and sealed for disposal. It's work that's years in the making. KEPR was the only station there as workers rolled out another hot cell. Each can weigh up to 200 tons. It's just one reason the work is slow. It also moves slowly because what's inside the containers is very, very dangerous. Gary Snow runs the demolition part of today’s project. “The purpose of the building was to do testing on radiating materials. And over the course of the building, there were numerous accidents that spread contaminations,” said Snow.’

Video: Muckaty Station as potential radioactive waste dump ‘The search for somewhere to dump Australia's low level radioactive waste has been going on for more that 25 years. That search has frustrated federal and state government, and eventually led to a site being nominated at Muckaty Station near Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory. But there's growing opposition to its use as a potential waste dump. Some Muckaty traditional owners support the idea, claiming it will bring jobs, housing and education. Others are strongly opposed, saying the federal government hasn't consulted with the correct traditional owners’